What is the significance of Dussehra? Dussehra, celebrated at the end of Navratri, is in actuality the symbolic celebration of the victory of good over evil. Whether it be goddess Durga’s killing of the asura Mahisasura in order to restore dharma, or Lord Rama’s killing of Ravana to end his evil reign, or Arjuna’s defeating the entire Kaurava army to restore peace, harmony and all that is good. Which is why when we greet someone with a “Happy Dussehra”, we wish upon that person the power to find within himself only his or her good by vanquishing all that is evil inside. What is the significance of wishing yourself a Happy Dussehra? At Enrich Salon, we have always believed in ‘Love Begins With You’, and we feel this philosophy has special meaning on Dussehra for each of you. Since, by wishing yourself a Happy Dussehra, you respect that love that you have for yourself by working on your own negatives, and bringing out your positives in all their glory. Sounds difficult? Not really, if you look within yourself, analyse your own traits, and break them down into simple workable parts. Here are a few examples of how you can go about doing that. We all have our own unique lists of inner evils. It is about being able to identify them yourself. The following are pointers and exercises on how to tackle a bad trait and to turn it on its head into something good. If you love yourself enough to do that, that is. Which you should be. Because you are worth it. This Dussehra kill your envy, and celebrate your ability to appreciate others Envy is extremely counter productive. It is in no way constructive. It makes you not only want your name on what somebody else has achieved, but actually makes you hate that person for doing it. Where does that get you? In a quagmire of your own negativity and impotent rage. Love yourself by first realising this. And then working on it. Kill the envy. Replace it with appreciation for the other’s achievement. That is very easy to do. It’s just about realising that the other person is another individual like you and did what he wanted to do. Another great take away from this exercise is telling and teaching yourself that if someone else can do it, you can too. Find out how. Go about trying. You might fail, you might succeed. But you shall have gained self-respect. And constructive ambition. This Dussehra kill your greed, and celebrate your ability to share Taking what you need is a necessity, what...

What are you feeding your skin? We all know that eating the right kind of food is crucial for the well being of each and every organ of the body. But we might not all be aware of the fact that the largest organ of the human body is the skin! So what you eat has a huge impact on the health of your skin. While superficial treatments and skin care routines are good for healthy skin, what they actually do is enhance the health of your skin that originally comes from within. Here are some foods that, apart from being good for other parts of your body, are particularly beneficial to your skin. Try and add as many of them in your diet as you can, and see the difference for yourself. Tomatoes Tomatoes contain Vitamin C, and various carotenoids including lycopene, beta carotine, and lutein. Vitamin C helps your skin from ageing prematurely. Lycopene protects your skin from damage caused by exposure to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays. Beta carotene improves your skin’s tone and elasticity. Lutein helps keep your skin hydrated. Having tomatoes with a bit of olive oil or cheese improves the body’s capability of absorbing all the goodness in them. Green Tea Green Tea contains catechins and polyphenols. Catechins are powerful antioxidants that protect your skin against damage from the ultraviolet rays of the sun, while improving hydration levels, thickness and elasticity of your skin. The polyphenols help reduce inflammation, reduce blemishes, flush out toxins, treat acne, and keep the skin supple. Avoid having green tea with milk as this reduces your body’s ability to absorb all the goodness in green tea. Avocados Avocados are rich in good fats, Vitamin E and Vitamin C. The good fats make your skin more elastic and supple. The Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that protects the skin from premature ageing through damage caused by the Sun’s ultraviolet rays. Vitamin C helps in collagen production that is essential for the strength of your layer of skin. Vitamin C along with Vitamin E work together to bring each other’s benefits even more. Fatty Fish Fatty fish are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, a specific protein and Zinc. The fatty acids help reduce skin inflammation and keep it elastic, hydrated and thick while helping fight autoimmune conditions like lupus and psoriasis. The Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that protects the skin from premature ageing through damage caused by the Sun’s ultraviolet rays. The special protein helps hold the structure of the skin together. Zinc reduces inflammation and helps in skin cell...

Michchami Dukadam This is a very ancient phrase in Prakrit that roughly translates to… May the evil that has been done be fruitless. In essence it means… If I have offended you in any way, knowingly or unknowingly, then I seek your forgiveness. This is how Jains greet each other on the last day of their revered festival of Paryushan, the objective of this tradition being that all previous differences should be left behind on this day and forgiven and forgotten. Paryushan is time of intensive study, reflection and purification – a lovely way to officiate a new beginning. We, at Enrich Salons, with our philoshopy “Love begins with you”, have a suggestion for you this Paryushan. Say Michchami Dukadam to yourself first, before saying it to others. Here’s why we feel it would be a good thing to do. Forgiving yourself purges your soul of past wrong doings. Purging your soul of past wrong doings makes you a better person. Being a better person puts you in a better position to forgive others of their past wrong doing. If you have not forgiven yourself for things you knowingly or unknowingly did wrong in the past, it means you want to keep punishing yourself with the guilt, the bad memories, the pointless rumination. This means you do not love yourself enough to want to take yourself out of that misery. But once you realise the importance of giving yourself that love and care enough to forgive yourself with your heart for all those things, which also means promise yourself they will not be repeated in the future, you will be able to rise above the pointless thoughts and cleanse your mind of all its impurities. The result? You will be a clean blank slate on which you have already promised not to write the wrong again. And you will then truly be in a position to forgive others because you will know that forgiveness is possible as you have given it to yourself first. Forgiving yourself helps you move on towards a more positive life. Moving on towards a more positive life makes you a better person. Being a better person puts you in a better position to forgive others and to move on themselves. Moving on in life is an essential component of living itself. Just like time does not stop for anyone or anything, just like day follows night, just like one thing leads to another, so also moving on is something that is bound to happen. And it is a good thing because it is a natural thing. If you oppose that natural motion,...

What’s the big deal about Section 377? The recent ruling on Section 377 has been a very important landmark in many aspects, a very important one being about love. At Enrich Salons, our philosophy being Love Begins With You, we relate to this ruling in a big way. Our take on it being, now we are free to love ourselves first. Let us take the different things the ruling judges believed in and see how that can be translated to you being now freer to love yourself before loving anyone else. Sexual autonomy is an important pillar and an inseparable facet of individual liberty This statement means one has the right to take his or her own decision regarding who to love, and it is a part and parcel of his or her individual right. This can be between a man and a woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman, or… between you and yourself. Yes! You have the right to choose to love yourself first. It is your right and duty at the same time! Having an intimate relationship is a matter of complete personal choice between consenting adults One has the right to choose who to have an intimate relationship with, and it is his or her personal decision, which has to be respected. We ask, what greater intimate relationship can one have, than with oneself? When one delves deep within oneself to find his or her inner being, be it through meditation, contemplation, constructive thought and self-understanding, the result is invariably positive. It makes you find the real you, and teaches you to love yourself for what you are, and to improve upon characteristics in order to become a better person. This unique relationship can happen if both of you, the outer you and the inner you, are both consenting. Which means you have to be open to this self exploration for it to work. Attitudes have to change to accept the distinct identity of individuals instead of compelling them to be who they are not This is the third opinion. This statement means the mentality of people has to change in order to break the social pressure of fitting into a ‘mould’. A combined acceptance of this will make this change happen, and every individual working towards it is going to make an impact. To start with, that individual should be you, by accepting yourself, and being the unique you. When the liberty of a person is smothered under some vague stipulation that it is against the order of nature, then the fundamental right of one’s liberty...

Who is a teacher? A teacher is any being who passes on good knowledge, positive realisation or any other virtue to another, along with giving him or her the ways of using it to one’s good in his or her life. Be it your dog who taught you to be patient and to find joy in small things, your child who taught you the values of responsibility, or your school teacher who taught you your alphabet, any one can, and should be a teacher. So can you, by sharing whatever good you have within yourself with others who can benefit by it. So Teachers’ Day, in its essence, is really Everyone’s Day. Or should be. But this Teachers’ Day you have a special someone to teach. You. While we get busy teaching others what we think is right, we tend to neglect ourselves in the process. Teaching yourself new things is a huge part of finding yourself as a person. There are many things you can teach yourself, but this Teachers’ Day, we at Enrich Salons, whose philosophy is “Love begins with you”, have a special task for you. Which is, teach yourself to love yourself first. Why is loving oneself first so important for a teacher? If you do not love yourself, you will not have confidence in yourself. If you do not have confidence in yourself, no one will believe that what you teach them is right. Say for example you have great philosophies to share. Practical philosophies one can use in his or her life to take him or her through the rough patches they will invariable face. If you do not love yourself enough to practice them yourself in your own life to make it better first, people will react with doubt when you share your views with them. After all, practice what you preach makes sense. Give yourself love, take your own life to a better place with your ideals, and people will come to you. If you do not love yourself, you will not be a good human being. If you are not a good human being, no one in their right minds will want to learn anything from you. Say for example you have great knowledge of the physics of the Universe. But say, for argument’s sake, you are not a good person at heart. Intelligent people will want no part of what you have to teach. You might argue what scientific knowledge has to do with your moral character? A lot, really. If you do not understand the basics of how being a good human being works,...